meirman wrote:
((snip))

As to the heater switch, I did note during testing today that between
speeds 1, 2, 3, and 4, it makes the connection with the next speed
setting before it breaks the connection with the current one. Seems
to me this should cut down arcing to zero or near zero. Except
between off and speed one, which is the lowest speed using the least
current. Of course the design must not be as good as I'm making it
sound, or these things wouldn't be breaking all the time. (The model
from my friend's van may be the more recent one, and maybe it doesn't
fail like the old one did. Still, cars have had heater fans speed
switches since 1950 and earlier, and one would think they'd have the
bugs out by now. My car only has 76,000 miles.

Boy are you optimistic! I've had older cars most
of my life, getting them at 50,000 miles or so
(5-10 years old)and getting rid of them at over
100,000 (12-29 years old). Only recently have I
ever had a problem with a heater switch. It was a
car 9 years old with about 40,000 miles on it.



I apologize but I may not have to regrease after all, and I won't if I
don't have to because I don't want to open the switch more times than
necessary, and break the metal tabs that hold the switch together.

I tested it today with the heaviest 12 volt load I had handy today,
and that was a diaphragm-style air compressor suitable for refilling
flat tires. Nowhere near, I think, as big a load as the fan, but it
worked fine, and I couldn't even hear a difference in speed from the
other switch positions. (I wasn't using any resistors.) If I had had
10 more minutes, I could have installed the fan (if I didn't connect
the hot/cold lever) but something came up.

Glad to hear the switch is working, now to find
out if that was really the problem.



((snip))

Meirman
--
If emailing, please let me know whether
or not you are posting the same letter.
Change domain to erols.com, if necessary.